January 14, 2008
 

 
TOA President's Update
  

By John T. Gill, MD
President, Texas Orthopaedic Association

Dear Members,
The press release launching the TOA’s Get Active! Texas (GAT) public

health campaign was sent to the Texas Media on January 4th. You can view the press release here.

Several people from the Texas media list contacted us immediately. We would like to thank the TOA members who responded to our request for spokespersons for Get Active! Texas. Eddie Seade has already done a radio interview for a San Antonio station and orthopaedists from Scott & White are responding to Channel 10 News in their area. Drs. Seade and Brannan Smoot are booked to be interviewed by the Fox station in Austin this week.

If you are interested in being a spokesperson for the campaign please let us know. We have heard from the Austin, Houston, Dallas, Tyler and Waco areas. As an orthopaedic surgeon, you may be asked about the Get Active! Texas campaign by your local media. You can find more information at www.toa.org by clicking on the Get Active! Texas logo and going to the press kit information. This information should provide you with talking points. Although we know you can respond to questions about building and maintaining bone health, media training has shown us that it is best to be prepared when being interviewed.

Please email donna@toa.org to sign up for the TOA speaker network. The Get Active! Texas campaign gives us the opportunity to not only provide education to Texans regarding the importance of activity as it relates to bone health and obesity prevention, it will also give the public a better idea of the practice of orthopaedic surgery.

John T. Gill
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Register Today For The Orthopaedic Specific ~ Texas Workers’ Compensation Workshops
     

We rescheduled the Austin Orthopaedic Specific ~ Texas Workers’ Compensation Workshop for Monday - January 21st, 2008

The TOA Workers’ Compensation Workshop will provide specific information on regulatory changes, reimbursement challenges, and disability management aspects of treating patients in the workers’ compensation system.

Upon completion of this activity, meeting participants will be able to:

  • Describe the latest developments in workers’ compensation laws and rules, specifically the new increased fees, workers’ compensation specific payments for case management, bonus payments for critical access shortage areas, and new legislation passed during the 80th legislative session;

  • Discuss the impact of the new disability management rules, quality of care, and patient access;

  • Exchange ideas with experts and peers on treatment guidelines, return-to-work guidelines, and treatment planning initiatives, and

  • Learn how to respond to and meet the needs of the current and anticipated changes of the workers’ compensation system.

**The Experts are available**
to answer every question.


Orthopaedic Specific ~ Texas Workers' Compensation Workshop Agenda
 
AM 8:15 – 9:00 Registration and Breakfast
  9:00 – 10:30 Developments in the Workers’ Compensation System
  10:30 – 10:40 Break
  10:45 – 12:00 Administrative Tips and Coding

 

   
PM 12:00 – 1:00 Working Lunch
  1:00 – 3:30 Administrative Tips and Coding
  3:30 – 3:45 Break
  3:45 – 5:00 Discussion and Questions Period
     
REGISTRATION COSTS
$189 TOA Members or their staff
$249 Nonmembers

Click here to register today for the
Austin Orthopaedic Specific ~ Workers’ Compensation Workshop
on January 21st, 2008.

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Workers’ Compensation Division Adopts New Medical Fee Guideline

By Michael Reed, MBA, MPA

The Texas workers’ compensation system is in need of repair and Texas Medical Association physician members have consistently requested Legislators and regulators to reform the broken system for their patients. To address important access to care issues, the Texas Department of Insurance’s Division of Workers’ Compensation has

adopted a new medical fee guideline. Addressing inappropriate fees in workers’ compensation is an important step in the right direction, however there is more work to be done to reduce administrative hassles and burdens that keep most from physicians from accepting workers’ compensation patients.

The best news for physicians is that along with the fee increases, the workers’ compensation system in Texas no longer has to endure sudden and unexpected shifts in rates based on political decisions made by Congress and the sustainable growth rate. The new Texas workers’ compensation rates will be based on conversion factors that will be adjusted annually using the Medicare Economic Index (MEI). The MEI is the weighted average of price changes for goods and services used to deliver physician services.

Since 2003, workers’ compensation reimbursement rates were 125% of Medicare for all services. The new rule changes the conversion factor for most professional services to $52.83 for calendar year 2008 with surgeries performed in facility settings set at $66.32. For those who need comparisons to Medicare, that is roughly 140 and 175 percent of Medicare, respectively. The new guideline is effective on March 1.

Other changes adopted with these rules include:

• creates incentive payments to providers in areas of the state where injured workers are underserved. Providers in 122 of the state’s 4,254 ZIP Code areas will get a 10% incentive on top of the fee-schedule amount;

• fees and modifiers for workers’ compensation specific case-management responsibilities;

• creates reimbursements with modifiers associated with the expanded duties of designated doctors;

• creates billing and reimbursement methods for an impairment rating evaluation in circumstances when there is no test to determine an impairment rating for a non-musculoskeletal condition.

TMA applauds DWC for its efforts and looks forward to simplifying the process for patients who are injured at work and reducing the hassles and burdens for physician offices.
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This Week In Texas: Mignon McGarry Memos
    

By Mignon McGarry
TOA Legislative Advocate / Memo: Wed. November 28th, 2007
TOA Online Version: All Memos

 

January 9th, Wednesday
Happy 2008! This year should prove to be an exciting one as we elect a new President of the United States as well as a slew of other statewide

and local officeholders.

2007 ended on a sad note in Austin. Ric Williamson, Chairman of the Texas Transportation Commission and former State Representative passed away on December 30th after suffering a heart attack. A native of Weatherford, Texas, Williamson served in the Texas House for 14 years. He joined the Transportation Commission in 2001 and became Chairman in 2004. He was an outspoken supporter of toll roads and their private financing. Williamson was 55.

Lt. Governor David Dewhurst announced the Senate appointments to the Sunset Commission. Joining Sen. Kim Brimer (R-Ft. Worth), Sen. Craig Estes (R-Wichita Falls) and Sen. Bob Deuell (R-Greenville) on the Commission will be Sen. Glenn Hegar (R-Katy) who was also named Vice-Chair, Sen. Juan “Chuy” Hinojosa (D-McAllen) and Michael Stevens of Houston who will serve as a public member. The Sunset Commission will hold an organizational meeting on Thursday, January 10th. 27 agencies are scheduled to be reviewed this year, including the Texas Department of Insurance, the Texas Department of Transportation, the Texas Department of Agriculture and the Texas Department of Public Safety. A limited review of the Texas Medical Board will also be conducted.

The January 2nd filing deadline has come and gone. Here is the lowdown:

Texas Senate: 15 Senate seats are up for reelection. Seven incumbents will run for reelection unopposed by a major party opponent (Hinojosa, West, Fraser, Van de Putte, Lucio, Duncan, and Seliger.) Two Texas Senators will face primary opponents. Sen. Tommy Williams (R-The Woodlands) will face former Senator Michael Galloway in the Republican primary for Senate District 4. Sen. Craig Estes (R-Wichita Falls) faces a challenge from Denton developer Charles Stafford in the Republican primary for Senate District 30. Six Senate incumbents face opponents in the general election (Brimer, Carona, Gallegos, Harris, Jackson, and Zaffirini.)

Texas House: All 150 seats are up for reelection. Sixty House incumbents will run without opposition from a major party opponent. There are 8 open seats due to current officeholders choosing not to run for reelection. In one of those open races, House District 119 currently represented by retiring Rep. Robert Puente, Democrat Roland Gutierrez will run unopposed.

There are 29 House incumbents who face opposition in their party’s primary. A total of 65 incumbents face opposition from at least one major party opponent in the general election. There are 12 House incumbents who will face challengers in both their primary and the general election. One notable incumbent with an opponent in the general election: Speaker Tom Craddick (R-Midland) will face Democrat Bill Dingus.

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The 2008 Arthritis Committee Presents Arthritis Treatment and Technology
  

The 2008 Arthritis Committee Presents
 Arthritis Treatment and Technology
 a CME Dinner
 benefiting
 The Arthritis Foundation

When: January 24, 2008
Time: Reception: 5:30-6:25
Dinner: 6:30pm – 9:00 pm

Where: Thompson Auditorium
Texas Medical Association
401 West 15th Street, Ste. 820
Austin, Texas 78701
Phone: 512-370-1300
 Free Parking at TMA garage

 

To Register:  
Email Shellee Fowler at shellee_fowler@hotmail.com;
Phone: 512.636.0801

In lieu of registration fee, donations to The Arthritis Foundation is appreciated.  
Email:  austinarthritiswalk@gmail.com

Click here to view the entire flyer.

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